text:
The Mystery of the Dashing Widower: A FitzOsbornes Story
I'd planned to publish this for Love Your Bookshop Day, to say thank you to all the Australian booksellers who have worked so hard to keep us supplied with books during the pandemic. Unfortunately, Love Your Bookshop Day was two weeks ago. I would have known the correct date if I was still on Twitter. But not being on Twitter meant I had lots more spare time to write this. Swings and roundabouts. So, here, belatedly, for booksellers and book readers, is a fluffy FitzOsbornes short story. I'm afraid it won't make a lot of sense unless you've read The FitzOsbornes at War.
The Mystery of the Dashing Widower
One of the most enjoyable aspects of Miss Lancaster's job at the bookshop — apart from the unlimited access to books, of course — was contemplating the hidden lives of the customers. Such mysteries! There was The Major, a gruff elderly gentleman who always had a Mills and Boon romance concealed in the stack of military history books he brought up to the counter each month. ("For the wife," he'd muttered, when he saw Miss Lancaster's glance snag upon Desire is Blind. She wasn't sure if it would be more endearing if this turned out to be the truth or a lie.) There was the tall, thin lady who was slowly making her way through a badly-foxed copy of The Interpretation of Dreams in the dimmest corner of the shop, marking her place each week with a red cotton thread. There was The Brunette in Blue, who always contrived to be in the shop at the exact same time as The Shy Accountant, although Miss Lancaster had never managed to catch them exchanging a single word, let alone touching.
However, her favourite mystery by far was the Dashing Widower, whom she'd first encountered two years ago when he'd rushed in and begged for book recommendations.
"It's for my sister," he'd said. "She's very clever and has read absolutely everything but we must keep her in bed, doctor's advice, you see, first baby and all, and magazines and newspapers simply aren't working anymore."
"Ah," said Miss Lancaster, brightening. It had been a very dull afternoon and the young gentleman had blond curls and sparkling blue eyes and a charming smile. "Well, what interests her?"
"The human condition," he said solemnly, then laughed. "Let's see. She likes Austen and Trollope and the Brontës and there's a novel she's just finished, I wrote down its author — Davey, I have to put you down for a moment while I find that note." He'd been carrying a dark-haired child, perhaps two years old, who grumbled quietly as he was lowered to the floor. "Look, old chap, a book about yachts, you'll adore that. Here we are — Rumer Godden. Can that be right? Is that really someone's name?"
Up close, the gentleman was older than she'd first thought, with scarred flesh running down the side of his face and neck. He limped, and later she realised he had a wooden leg. The war, she supposed. What a tragedy, and then to have lost his wife, too — because surely he was a widower. Why else would a man spend so much time looking after his small children? Because soon after that, he began to visit the shop every couple of weeks or so, sometimes with a baby in a fancy silver perambulator, more often with his son on their way back from sailing toy boats in Hyde Park. He mostly bought books for the children, Ladybirds and Dr Seuss and a beautiful leather-bound collection of fairy tales. Sometimes he accepted further recommendations for his sister ("The Grand Sophy! Oh, yes, that's perfect."), but he always claimed he didn't read himself.
"You do, Daddy," corrected Davey. "You read about aeroplanes."
"Yes, maintenance manuals," said his father, and Miss Lancaster filed that away. Ex-RAF? Former fighter pilot? Current pilot? Except he didn't ever seem to go to work.
"We had a box of Biggles come in this morning," she offered. "Excellent condition." She picked up Biggles Sees It Through and handed it over. A curious expression came over his face and he went very still.
"What's that?" said Davey, peering closer.
His father shook his head and smiled down at the boy.
"Sorry, lost in thought. Your aunt loved these books. Oh, look, Davey, The Adventures of Wonk: Going To Sea! Shall we get that one?"
Miss Lancaster stayed well away from aeroplanes — indeed, anything military — after that. Her standard recommendation for men who claimed not to read was a collection of humorous short stories, but she didn't dare suggest P. G. Wodehouse, not after all the fuss about his broadcasts during the war. Nazi propaganda, they'd called it. Sometimes it felt as though the war would never be over…
Months later, Miss Lancaster spied the Dashing Widower by The Serpentine with a pretty blonde who looked so much like him that she could only have been his sister. Davey was hurling bread at the ducks, his sister had by then grown big enough to stand on her own legs and the lady was fussing over a smaller baby in the now-familiar perambulator. Her baby? Presumably. She did not, Miss Lancaster had to admit, look like a Biggles fan, but appearances could be deceiving.
However interesting this sighting was, it was nothing compared to the momentous afternoon the following year. Miss Lancaster had been walking through Belgravia. This was not, strictly speaking, on her way home, but sometimes she couldn't resist the lure of those grand old mansions, so imposing, so intriguing. Since the war, some of them had been turned into embassies — mostly for tiny countries no one had ever heard of, but still, imagine all the fascinating people inside, the diplomats and press officers and spies… She turned a corner and there, across the road, was the Dashing Widower with little Davey, talking to one of the most beautiful women Miss Lancaster had ever seen in real life. She looked like a film star, except she was dressed in a sensible navy trouser suit and her only makeup was a slash of scarlet lipstick. The three of them were standing on the steps of the grandest house on the street and the resemblance between Davey and the woman was striking.
Miss Lancaster did some hasty editing of her mental file. Not a widower, then? Perhaps his beautiful wife was one of those modern career women and he'd agreed to take care of the children? Because his injuries were so serious that he knew he could never work again? Although she suspected that no one who lived in a house like that would ever need to worry about working at any sort of ordinary job. Old money, as her boss had said that morning when he'd returned from that deceased-estate auction in the country. Miss Lancaster sidled rapidly across the road to the neighbouring house and arranged herself behind a marble pillar, where she spent some time with her head bent over her handbag, carefully adjusting and re-adjusting the leather strap.
"I must go," said the lady. "Meeting Daniel for tea at Westminster."
Could she be a lady MP?
The woman climbed into a rather battered-looking motor car and Davey waved vigorously as she drove off.
"Bye, Aunt Veronica!" he cried.
Ah. Not his mother, then. An aunt, and this one looked even less like a Biggles reader. Miss Lancaster was just wondering whether she could stroll ahead now, perhaps nod hello and get a glimpse of their foyer as they opened their front door, when a far more impressive motor car pulled up and Cary Grant stepped out.
Well, not Cary Grant, because he was in Hollywood, but close enough, double-breasted pin-striped Savile Row suit and all. Davey ran down the stairs and threw himself at the man.
"Oh, you just missed Veronica," said the Dashing Widower.
"Good," said Not Cary Grant, hoisting up Davey. "How's my boy?" he asked with obvious affection, and now Miss Lancaster could see the family resemblance between those two as well. "Is Julia back yet?"
"Yes," said the Dashing Widower. "And the meeting went exactly as you predicted. But never fear, she's plotting her next move."
"You were away for two days," said Davey accusingly, holding up two fingers.
"Yes, and I missed you," said Not Cary Grant.
"Did you miss Mummy?"
"Yes." He put the child down so that he could pull his suitcase out of the car.
"Did you miss Daddy?"
"Did you miss Mr Simpkins?"
"Who's Mr Simpkins?"
"The cat with three legs."
"The one that chewed up my favourite silk tie? No, I did not miss him. And I wish your uncle would stop foisting all these defective animals on us—"
The three of them disappeared through the glossy red front door, which shut firmly behind them before Miss Lancaster could catch a glimpse of the interior.
Miss Lancaster pursed her lips. This was getting very confusing.
She had progressed no further with solving the mystery of the Devoted Father, as she'd re-named him, on an icy winter's afternoon a few months later. Anyone who had any choice in the matter would have been tucked up by the fire at home with tea and crumpets. Davey, however, had birthday money to spend and was taking this book-buying expedition very seriously.
"I could get this one about sailing ships and this quite small book about a fireman or I could get this very, very good book about how to defend a castle from invaders…"
Meanwhile, his little sister was sitting on the rug in the children's section, her stout legs stretched out in front of her. She was the most angelic-looking child, all golden curls and enormous blue-green eyes, but her rosebud frock had mud smeared down the front. ("Toni fell in a puddle," Davey had said disapprovingly. "On purpose. And she just laughed.") Her father was holding up a book for her approval.
"I want bunny," she said.
"We say please when we want something. And we do not need any more bunny books," said her father. "Now, who's this? Look, he's grey and has floppy ears!" He handed her The Story of Babar, which she examined dubiously. "You sit here quietly and look at this for a moment. Davey! Have you decided yet?"
The little boy was frowning at two books. "I decided, but I don't have enough money. This one costs two shillings and two pence and this very, very good one is three shillings and nine pence."
"So how much are they, when you add them up?"
"Five shillings and eleven pence. But I only have five shillings and eight pence." He held out a palmful of coins.
"So how much more money do you need?"
"I'm only four, Daddy," said Davey. "I can do adding up, but I can't do adding down."
"It's called subtracting and yes, you can. You were doing it this morning. Here, I'm going to lend you thruppence and you can pay me back from your jam jar when we get home. How much do you have now?"
"Five shillings and eleven pence!"
"So if you subtract three pence from five shillings and eleven pence, you get—?"
"Daddy, Toni is climbing the wall."
Miss Lancaster, distracted by the arithmetic lesson, had also failed to notice the little girl, who had tucked her dress into her bloomers and scaled the bookshelf in the Natural History section as far up as Alpine Flora and Fauna.
"Good Lord, I leave you alone for thirty seconds!" said her father, who'd dashed over to rescue her. "No climbing, Toni! That's very naughty. You could hurt yourself. And look, now you've torn your new dress—"
"Excuse me, I would like to pay for these books, please," said a firm voice somewhere below the counter.
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Miss Lancaster, leaning over to take the books and handful of coins from Davey. "Thank you, that's the exact amount. Shall I wrap them for you?"
"No, thank you. I will put them in my bag." Davey was carefully stowing them away in his satchel when his father came up, carrying the little girl.
"Give the book to the lady, please," said the Devoted Father, rather wearily.
"No!" Toni clutched the book and shook her head. Then she suddenly changed her mind and thrust The Bunney-Fluffs' Moving Day at Miss Lancaster, with a dazzling smile that showed off two new pearly teeth.
"Ah, a bunny book. How nice," said Miss Lancaster blandly. "That will be 2/6, please. Shall I wrap it for you?"
"Put this in your bag, please, Davey," said the Devoted Father. "Right! Have we got everything? Toni, where are your mittens? Let's go or we'll be late for tea. Remember, we're going to see Elizabeth this afternoon."
"Princess Elizabeth?" said Davey, and Miss Lancaster's eyes widened.
"So we'll be on our best behaviour, won't we, Toni?"
"Bunny book," said Toni.
"Yes, you can share your bunny book with her. I'm sure she'll love that. Good afternoon," he said, nodding to Miss Lancaster. "Terribly sorry about the mountaineering. Won't happen again." He herded the children out and the bell clanged behind them.
Miss Lancaster propped her elbow on the counter and her chin on her hand. She was considering getting some cushions for the children's section and perhaps a Winnie-the-Pooh to sit on the windowsill. Her boss said she should not encourage children in the shop because they were noisy and smelly and had sticky fingers, but Miss Lancaster had pointed out that this also applied to a significant number of their grown-up customers. She very much enjoyed observing the various children who visited the bookshop and remained hopeful that one day, little Davey would let slip enough information to enable her to solve the mystery of the Devoted Father. In the meantime, she was going to put the kettle on. She was planning to have a nice cup of tea and an arrowroot biscuit. And then she had a box of Margery Allingham detective stories to sort through. Miss Lancaster really did adore her job.
© Michelle Cooper 2020
Posted on October 19, 2020 July 31, 2021 Author MichelleCategories 1950s and 1960s, The Montmaray Journals
20 thoughts on "The Mystery of the Dashing Widower: A FitzOsbornes Story"
Sonia Gensler says:
This makes me want to re-read the trilogy!
Thank you, Sonia!
This made my day.
Please say there's at least a possibility that there will be further FitzOsborne adventures someday?
Thanks, Valerie! Yes, I'm slowly working on a new FitzOsbornes book. This little story was a warm-up, to get me back into FitzOsbornes Writing Mode.
Kate C says:
Thanks, Kate!
I don't know why your books were in my head – I think it was a WWI documentary I was watching – and I came here just to see if you'd posted anything lately, and found this wonderful surprise. Thank you so much – it's made my week and it's only Monday! 🙂
Thanks, Karen! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Hilde says:
Thank you for the short story, Michelle!
Thanks, Hilde. I enjoyed finding out what the FitzOsbornes had been up to since I last wrote about them!
Megan Lembke says:
I really enjoyed this story. What a good parent Toby is! He seems the most involved of the three of them- but of course I have only read two short segments of the life of this not quite usual family.
Thanks, Megan! I'm really glad you enjoyed it.
I can't find the words to express how happy this made me.
Thank you, Lily!
Hana says:
Wow, this is absolutely phenomenal. What a joy to get to revisit this world! Your deft humor and charm shine through even in this short piece. Looking very much forward to the possibility of a FitzOsborne sequel!
Thank you, Hana! I enjoyed writing this, too.
Jaye says:
I'm in the middle of a reread and to find this while I'm revisiting my favorite family is just the most wonderful thing! Thank you so much for this, it has brought me so much joy to see how everyone is doing.
Thank you, Jaye! I'm so glad people are enjoying this story.
Thank you for this perspective! Who is the blonde woman mentioned talking to Toby before Veronica shows up? I was thinking it could be Sophie and her new baby, but doesn't she have mousy brown hair?
Hi, Robyn. It's Sophie with baby Elizabeth! In the books, Sophie describes her own hair as 'colourless' and 'frizzy' and some mean debutantes call her the 'mousy sister', but she is actually a pretty blonde.
Previous Previous post: Memoranda Turns Ten
Next Next post: My New Author Website


text:
Q: If a JavaScript function returns a promise, can I make it async instead of using try/catch clauses in the function? I have a function that may throw exceptions. On successful execution my function will return a promise. I want to handle any function exceptions or a promise rejection the in the same catch block later in the code.
I could add a try block in the function and on any caught exception return a rejected promise, e.g.
function foo(x) {
  try {
    // code here may throw an exception
    return myPromise(x.y)
  }
  catch (ex) {
    return Promise.reject(ex)
  }
}

I can then use foo(x).catch(ex => { /* handler here */})
Alternatively I could make the function async, resulting in any function exceptions producing a foo() promise rejection, e.g.
async function foo(x) {
    // code here may throw an exception
    return myPromise(x.y)
}

I can handle exceptions and rejections as before. Is there any drawbacks in the second approach?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The main purpose of zero waste shopping is to promote naturally sustainable performs and to circumvent the use of non-biodegradable products like plastic.
Plastic is something that is so rooted in our everyday lives that we don't even think about it. It wraps our food in the supermarket and our medicine in the drugstore. Appliances are made of plastic. Toothbrushes, dental floss, menstrual pads are made of it. Kids toys, dog's toys, shoes, clothes. And sooner or later, all these stuffs will be blended in a bin. To avoid the use of plastic we do plastic-free packaging most of the time and in case if needed we use biodegradable plastic and cellophane bags and wrappers. Bring large glass jars or other reusable flasks to the store Use them wherever an item needs to be weighed or you can bring a solid cloth bag with you to take solid bulks and dry fruits with you. Carry recyclable cotton produce bags and use them to buy fruits and vegetables.
The health benefits of Seeds, Nuts, and Dried fruits cannot be overemphasized enough. Seeds such as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, peanuts and Nuts & Dried food such as walnuts, almonds, pistachios, etc contain a host of healthful nutrients including the essential vitamins and minerals.
Nuts are a very popular food naturally high in calories, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Studies show that unsalted and raw nuts are one of the best foods that you can add to your daily diet, as they have many health benefits to offer your body despite of their high calories and fat. They're tasty, convenient and can be enjoyed on all kinds of diets.


Hive have recently worked closely with MBA Group to produce a direct mail campaign for P&O Cruises. The artwork was perfect for lenticular showing a clean transition from a cold wet scene using an umbrella to a beautiful hot sun kissed beach scene using the umbrella for shade!! The A5 lenticular card had a full 4 colour print on the reverse and MBA then printed the personalisation ready for mailing.


All premises that serve or sell food or drink must register whether or not the premises operate commercially.
Inspections, changing and improving your rating.
Your responsibilities when running a food business.


Qualification: Master degree with minimum 55% marks from recognized university. Preference will be given to person having Master in Social Science/ Humanities/ Education/ Rural development or having minimum 3 years experience of work at any reputed Institution/ Organization/State Government/ Central Government.
Qualification: Bachelor degree with minimum 55% marks from recognized university. Preference will be given to MBA (HR)/ LLB degree holder having 2 years experience of Administration at any reputed Institution/ Organization/State Government/ Central Government having knowledge of Government rules & regulation.
Qualification: Bachelor in Commerce with minimum 55% marks from recognized university. Preference will be given to person completed CA/ ICWA/ CS-Inter level with 3 years experience in the field of Accounting in any reputed Govt./Semi Govt. Institution / firm/ Organization.
Qualification: Bachelor degree with minimum 55% marks from recognized university. Preference will be given to person having Master degree in Social Science/ Humanities/ Education/ Rural development or having minimum 3 years experience of work at any reputed Institution/ Organization/ State Government/ Central Government.
Qualification: Graduation from any recognized university with 45 % marks. Shorthand Hindi- 80 wpm& English- 100 wpm, Typing -Hindi -40 wpm and English- 45 wpm with full knowledge of Computer application. Preference will be given to Candidates knowing bilingual shorthand & Typing and meeting the mentioned speed requirement with 2 years working experience at any reputed Institution/ Organization/ State Government/ Central Government.
Qualification: Graduation with 45% marks and one year Diploma Course in Computer science or Computer application. Typing -Hindi -40 wpm and English- 45 wpm with full knowledge of Computer application.
Desirable: Minimum one year experience in Computer Operation / Programming at any reputed Institution/ Organization/ State Government/ Central Government/ State/ Central undertakings.
Application Processing Fee: Applicant for post 8 is required to submit a non-refundable application processing fee of Rs.250 (Rs. Two hundred and fifty only) and for post 10 to 18 is required to submit a non-refundable application processing fee of Rs.200 (Rs. Two hundred only) in the form of Demand Draft in favour of "Jharkhand Education Project Council" payable at Ranchi from any nationalized/scheduled bank. Candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes category are exempted from the payment of application processing fee. However, they are required to attach caste certificates attested by the gazetted officer; otherwise their applications will be rejected. Application fees will not be received in the form of Cash/IPO etc.
Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) is an autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 on 12th April 2001 with its own service regulations and financial rules. It functions as the State Implementation Society (SIS) to pursue the goals of universalisation of elementary education (UPE) which has received weightage under the National Policy on Education (NPE) adopted in 1986 and consequently updated in 1992. The NPE provides a frame work for the development of education and plan of action, for assigning specific responsibilities for organizing, implementing and financing education, giving it an unqualified priority.


text:
using System;
using System.Xml;
using System.Drawing;
using SharpVectors.Dom.Css;
using SharpVectors.Dom.Svg.Rendering;

namespace SharpVectors.Dom.Svg
{
  /// <summary>
  /// Summary description for SvgElement.
  /// </summary>
  /// <developer>niklas@protocol7.com</developer>
  /// <developer>kevin@kevlindev.com</developer>
  /// <completed>75</completed>
  public class SvgElement : CssXmlElement, ISvgElement
  {
    #region Constructors
    protected internal SvgElement(string prefix, string localname, string ns, SvgDocument doc) : base(prefix, localname, ns, doc)
    {
    }
    #endregion

    #region Rendering
    protected RenderingNode renderingNode;
    public RenderingNode RenderingNode
    {
      get{return renderingNode;}
    }

    public virtual void CacheRenderingRegion(ISvgRenderer renderer)
    {
      if(renderingNode == null)
      {
        renderingNode = renderer.GetRenderingNode(this);
      }

      // Check if it has already been calculated
      if (renderingNode != null && renderingNode.ScreenRegion != RectangleF.Empty)
        return;

      // Invalidate the children
      foreach (XmlNode node in ChildNodes )
      {
        SvgElement element = node as SvgElement;
        if (element != null)
        {
          element.CacheRenderingRegion(renderer);
        }
      }
    }

    public virtual void InvalidateRenderingRegion()
    {
      if (renderingNode != null)
        renderingNode.ScreenRegion = RectangleF.Empty;

      // Invalidate the children
      foreach (XmlNode node in ChildNodes )
      {
        SvgElement element = node as SvgElement;
        if (element != null)
        {
          element.InvalidateRenderingRegion();
        }
      }
    }

    public virtual void Render(ISvgRenderer renderer)
    {
      if ( !(this is ISharpDoNotPaint) || (this is SvgSymbolElement && this.ParentNode is SvgUseElement))
      {
        if (renderingNode == null)
        {
          renderingNode = renderer.GetRenderingNode(this);
        }
        if (renderingNode !=  null)
        {
          if (!renderingNode.NeedRender(renderer)) return;
          renderingNode.BeforeRender(renderer);
          renderingNode.Render(renderer);
          RenderChildren(renderer);
          renderingNode.AfterRender(renderer);
        }
      }
    }

    public virtual void RenderChildren(ISvgRenderer renderer)
    {
      foreach ( XmlNode node in ChildNodes )
      {
        SvgElement element = node as SvgElement;
        if ( element != null )
        {
          element.Render(renderer);
        }
      }
    }
    #endregion

    #region Implementation of ISvgElement
    public new SvgDocument OwnerDocument
    {
      get
      {
        return base.OwnerDocument as SvgDocument;
      }
    }

    public string Id
    {
      get
      {
        return GetAttribute("id");
      }
      set
      {
        SetAttribute("id",value);
      }
    }

    public ISvgSvgElement OwnerSvgElement
    {
      get
      {
        if(this.Equals(OwnerDocument.DocumentElement))
        {
          return null;
        }
        else
        {
          XmlNode parent = ParentNode;
          while(parent != null && !(parent is SvgSvgElement))
          {
            parent = parent.ParentNode;
          }
          return parent as SvgSvgElement;
        }
      }
    }

    public ISvgElement ViewportElement
    {
      get
      {
        if(this.Equals(OwnerDocument.DocumentElement))
        {
          return null;
        }
        else
        {
          XmlNode parent = ParentNode;
          while(parent != null && !(parent is SvgSvgElement) &&!(parent is SvgSymbolElement) )
          {
            parent = parent.ParentNode;
          }
          return parent as SvgElement;
        }
      }
    }
    #endregion

    #region Implementation of ISvgLangSpace
    public string XmlSpace
    {
      get
      {
        string s = GetAttribute("xml:space");
        if(s.Length == 0)
        {
          if(ParentNode is SvgElement)
          {
            SvgElement par = (SvgElement) ParentNode;
            s = par.XmlSpace;
          }
          else s = "default";
        }

        return s;
      }
      set
      {
        SetAttribute("xml:space", value);
      }
    }

    public string XmlLang
    {
      get
      {
        string s = this.GetAttribute("xml:lang");
        if(s.Length == 0)
        {
          if(ParentNode is SvgElement)
          {
            SvgElement par = (SvgElement) ParentNode;
            s = par.XmlLang;
          }
          else s = String.Empty;
        }

        return s;
      }
      set
      {
        this.SetAttribute("xml:lang", value);
      }
    }
    #endregion

    #region Other public methods
    public string ResolveUri(string uri)
    {
      uri = uri.Trim();
      if(uri.StartsWith("#"))
      {
        return uri;
      }
      else
      {
        string baseUri = BaseURI;
        if(baseUri.Length == 0)
        {
          return uri;
        }
        else
        {
          return new Uri(new Uri(baseUri), uri).AbsoluteUri;
        }
      }
    }

    private ISvgElementInstance elementInstance = null;
    /// <summary>
    /// Whenever an SvgElementInstance is created for an SvgElement this
    /// property is set. The value of this property is used by the renderer
    /// to dispatch events. SvgElements that are <use>d exist in a
    /// conceptual "instance tree" and the target of events for those elements
    /// is the conceptual instance node represented by the SvgElementInstance.
    /// <see cref="http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG/struct.html#UseElement"/>
    /// <see cref="http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG/struct.html#InterfaceSVGElementInstance"/>
    /// </summary>
    public ISvgElementInstance ElementInstance
    {
      get
      {
        return elementInstance;
      }
      set
      {
        elementInstance = value;
      }
    }
    #endregion
}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Can Fintech Be a Force for Good?
October 27, 2022 GeneAka Management Leave a comment
The meeting of finance and technology could unleash a transformative force towards more inclusive financial services.
"We need banking, but we don't need banks anymore," Bill Gates famously said in 1994. Today, his prediction is playing out with tech companies disrupting the finance sector and blurring the lines between finance and technology. Their promise? Faster, cheaper and more accessible financial services.
Fintech has potential for great things and ill alike – and could well be the force for good. But for all the hype surrounding blockchain, cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the concept of fintech remains ambiguous, said Lily Fang, a Professor of Finance and the AXA Chaired Professor in Financial Market Risk at INSEAD.
Perhaps the more interesting question then, is which comes first, she said at a webinar on "The Impact of Fintech on the Future of Global Economy" co-organised by INSEAD and Thinkers50.
[link ]
The tech driving fintech
Fintech, said Fang, is fundamentally about using technology to deliver financial services. The internet of things has made more data available while necessitating new ways of collecting, storing, processing and analysing new types of data from new sources at scale. Fang named four key areas where technology is powering fintech: data collection, data architecture, data analytics and computing architecture.
Many people are in fact no stranger to these technologies. AI and machine learning are used to analyse huge volumes of data and enable service providers to know their customers better or conduct due diligence at a scale that was not possible before. At the architecture level, cloud computing and quantum computing have enabled the scale, flexibility and speed required to handle massive volumes of data.
We have also seen how blockchain has transformed the way data is captured and authenticated, laying the foundations for cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Meanwhile, opportunities abound in specialised functions such as cybersecurity to keep the fintech ecosystem safe, as well as in the development of APIs (application programming interface) that enable different applications to interoperate.
These technologies have transformed financial services, from payment to credit, investing and insurance. Loans and insurance applications can now be validated and processed more quickly. Investors can trade easily with AI portfolio management tools and high-frequency trading. Indeed, with the emergence of cryptocurrency, even the very notion of money is being challenged.
Crypto and FOMO
When cryptocurrencies were first launched, they were met with exuberance, as were most technological leaps. That's why markets are marked with bubbles and crashes, noted Fang. Fear of missing out (FOMO), fuelled by social media, the media and the influence of personalities with market-moving power such as Elon Musk and Cathie Wood, spurred many to jump on the cryptocurrency bandwagon.
At the same time, financial platforms like Robinhood have put cryptocurrency trading within reach of the masses, in the form of commission-free trading via a mobile app. Fang cautioned that platforms that gamify investment tend to make investing appear cheap and easy while understating the risks that investors are faced with.
In the crypto world, the peer-to-peer system of money is designed in such a way that everyone is responsible for their own actions and money. While the removal of the middlemen smells like freedom, it also means there is no backstop nor possibility of government bailout should things go south.
On governance and ethics
Traditionally, financial services such as banking and insurance are highly regulated to keep providers in line with mandatory standards and ethical behaviour. While technology has changed the delivery of these services drastically, the fundamentals of finance remain.
On the other hand, tech companies – which mostly operate in less regulated environments – are racing ahead in the fintech landscape. As such, the entry of tech companies into a traditionally highly regulated space has created regulatory loopholes, which need to be plugged. Regulation is simply not moving as fast as technological developments. Blockchain technology, for instance, is designed in a way that decentralises data governance, authentication and protection. Unlike a bank, it cannot be shut down by the government.
While supporters of blockchain insist that the technology's distributed architecture cannot be hacked, cryptocurrencies are stolen daily in reality. At the national scale, the introduction of digital currencies by central banks can put volumes of data in the hands of the governments, giving them unsurpassed power and surveillance capability, cautioned Fang. Ultimately, the merits of technology depend not only on the design, but also human actors and governance, she said.
On a positive note, some regulatory convergence is observed as governments make banking licences mandatory for mobile banking service providers. At the global scale, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is playing an important role in setting standards and regulations of cryptocurrencies.
The disruption of the finance sector has forced financial service providers to "self-disrupt" in order to catch up with tech and to do better. By lowering the cost structure of delivering financial services, fintech lowers the bar and makes financial services more accessible to more people. Ultimately, fintech can reduce inequality by enabling financial inclusion.
In 2007, telecommunication companies Vodafone and Safaricom revolutionised banking in Kenya with the mobile banking service M-Pesa. In a land where only 14 percent of the population owned a banking account, the service enabled the vast majority of Kenyans to be part of the country's financial system without the need for bank accounts or credit cards. By increasing access to financial services and enabling commerce, the technology has pulled over 2 million people out of poverty over the years.
In another example, insurtech (the combination of insurance and technology) leverages blockchain technology to improve access to insurance. Insurers such as AXA have been offering customisable insurance – known as parametric insurance – to indemnify its customers against the probability of pre-defined parameters such as flood or drought. By lowering the cost of insurance while offering wider, customisable coverage, it plugs the gap of conventional coverage. This has enabled businesses that typically fall through the crack – such as micro farmers – to manage risks and do more with limited resources.
Don't lose sight of the basics
Ultimately, not all financial and economic issues can be solved by technology. To assess the merits of technological innovations and solutions – including fintech – Fang urged managers and consumers to put these questions front and centre:
Does the business have a real purpose?
What is the problem the business is trying to solve?
Is it using the right way to solve it?
What are the incentives behind the offering?
"We need a healthy dose of understanding that technology is not going to solve all problems," said Fang. "At the end of the day, we still need judgement."
INSEAD Knowledge
Geraldine Ee
is a Senior Editor at INSEAD Knowledge, where she works with INSEAD's award-winning faculty to bring diverse business insights to leaders and the business community.
https://knowledge.insead.edu/economics-finance/can-fintech-be-force-good
Previous Post: The 10 Best Companies to Invest in Now
Next Post: Best International Companies to Own: 2022 Edition

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
A return to the radical
'Pippin' goes to the circus
Theater director John Tiffany (center) joined American Repertory Theater Artistic Director Diane Paulus (right) and Radcliffe Institute Dean Lizabeth Cohen for a discussion on the upcoming, reinvented production of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie."
Photo by Jessica Scranton
Paulus, Tiffany mine playwright Williams' wish for a pliable 'Glass Menagerie'
By Ivelisse Estrada Radcliffe Institute Communications
Date January 17, 2013 April 3, 2019
You may have read the play in high school or seen a local production. After all, in the more than six decades since its debut, Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" has joined the canon of great American theater. But over the course of countless stagings, the play also may have lost much of its evocative, unpredictable clout.
In a discussion at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study on Monday titled "An Evening with John Tiffany," the director and Diane Paulus '88 argued that Williams' unconventionality has been watered down over the years.
Paulus, artistic director of the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), and Tiffany RI '11, who will direct the A.R.T.'s upcoming production of the play, intend to honor the work's original, groundbreaking spirit. Their production will mark the first time that the A.R.T. has produced a Williams play. "We've presented a production or two," said Paulus, "but we've never self-generated and made our own."
Helping them in their quest to restore the play's radical edge is the concept of "plastic theater," introduced by Williams himself with the play. Contrary to what subsequent, realistic stagings of "Menagerie" may have led viewers to believe, the playwright railed against "the exhausted theater of realistic conventions," encouraging instead that his plays be presented with an expressionism that more closely approaches their truth.
"It doesn't feel as though we're doing something radical in terms of anything to undermine or corrupt the play in any way," said Tiffany. "I'm just taking Tennessee at his word."
Or words: specifically, "memory play." Tiffany found this phrase most instructive when conceiving the production's look and feel. "In memory, anything can happen," he said. "In memory, things are distorted, and things are exaggerated, or reduced, or not there." He called this plasticity of the play a gift to any director, one that will, he hoped, help to capture the profundity of the work.
"Tennessee Williams, more than any other author, is about emotional truth and raw expression," said Paulus. "It's not about the realistic recreation. It's about a poetic expression or transformation." Without spoiling the look and feel of the A.R.T. production, Tiffany added, "I don't think 'The Glass Menagerie' has looked like this before — ever."
In addition to a preview of sorts of the ideas and methods behind the new production, Tiffany and Paulus told stories of how their collaboration came to be, and they provided a behind-the-scenes look at how the casting selections were made, including the choice of the award-winning Cherry Jones as Amanda Wingfield. That was instrumental in bringing the playto Cambridge. (Jones was a founding member of the A.R.T.)
According to Tiffany, persuading Jones took a great deal of effort. She had vowed never to do the play, perhaps because she found it claustrophobic. In fact, said the director, "Once she got past the age where she could play Laura, she gave every single copy that she had of 'The Glass Menagerie' … away."
It was only after Tiffany set up a reading of the play at the New York Theatre Workshop — "just for us," he told her — that Jones finally relented, saying "When do we start?" She will be joined onstage by Zachary Quinto, best known for the television shows "Heroes" and "American Horror Story," who will play Tom. Described as "a stage creature" by Tiffany, Quinto has a longtime love of Williams' work.
Paulus and Tiffany understand experimental theater. Paulus earned a reputation as an avant-gardist when she co-created "The Donkey Show," a reimagining of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as a disco fable, which she revived when she arrived at the A.R.T. in 2008. Later, she brought "Sleep No More,"a co-production of the A.R.T. and London's Punchdrunk theater company, to Brookline's Old Lincoln School. That was an interactive version of "Macbeth" that incorporated elements from filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock into a site-specific, immersive experience.
Tiffany was once associate director of the National Theatre of Scotland, an unconventional, nomadic theater whose motto is "Theatre without walls." There, he directed the international sensation "Black Watch," a military drama originally staged in a drill hall in Edinburgh. While a Radcliffe fellow, he delivered the Julia S. Phelps Lecture in Arts and the Humanities, "Can We Keep Up? Theater's Incredible Ability to Evolve." In the lecture, he explored his approach to theater, a medium he said should keep up with modern audiences through variety, interaction, and a sense of fun. He then went on to reimagine "Macbeth" as a one-man show set in a mental institution.
Most recently, both directors have earned praise and awards for musicals born at the A.R.T. and now on Broadway. Paulus' reimagined "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess" won the Tony Award for best musical revival, while Tiffany won a best director Tony for his stage adaptation of the film "Once," which also won for best musical. "Once" workshopped at the A.R.T. in 2011, and was the first collaboration between Tiffany and Paulus.
Introducing and moderating the event, Radcliffe Institute Dean Lizabeth Cohen RI '02 called Tiffany "the first offspring" of another developing collaboration, this one between the institute and the A.R.T.
"We have been neighbors for years," she said, "but this evening signals that a new, programmatic partnership is under way." Look for the next "joint production" of the two local institutions on Radcliffe Day, May 31, when a panel discussion at the A.R.T., called "From Artist to Audience," will celebrate the arts and probe the challenges involved in keeping them alive and well.
"The Glass Menagerie" plays at the Loeb Drama Center from Feb. 2 to March 17.
Actors Andrea Martin (left) and Matthew James Thomas rehearse for the American Repertory Theater's smash production of "Pippin."
Photos courtesy of the American Repertory Theater


text:
Use Volume to scroll for choosed apps
Set apps in the variable apps with the correspondent packages.
When one of the chosen apps are in foreground, the volume buttons doesn't turn the volume up/down, but it does a small swipe in the middle of the screen with the velocity set in the dips variable.
When the notification panel is open while one of those apps are open, the app is still considered in foreground (this is not a feature of the flow).
When they're not in foreground the volume buttons do what they're supposed to do.


Veterans Day is a US holiday honoring veterans and commemorating the end of World War I. It is celebrated on November 11 each year.
Where does Veterans Day come from?
While World War I officially ended on June 28, 1919, an armistice halted the hostilities on November 11, 1918 at 11am. President Woodrow Wilson chose this date as Armistice Day the next year, corresponding to other countries' adoption of the same. This holiday was recognized by Congress in 1926, and it became a legal holiday in 1938.
After World War II and the Korean War, which resulted in many new veterans who hadn't served in World War I, veterans service organizations lobbied to change the name of Armistice Day. In 1954, Congress agreed, and amended the act to call the holiday Veterans Day. On October 8,1954, President Eisenhower made the first Veterans Day Proclamation regarding this change. The day became less focused on World War I specifically and more on American veterans in general.
In 1968, more changes to the holiday were mandated. The Uniform Holiday Bill had been signed into law, and it moved Veterans Day, among other holidays, to the nearest Monday every year in order to give Federal workers three-day weekends. October 25, 1971 was the first Veterans Day celebrated on this date, and many states refused to honor it, celebrating on the traditional November 11th instead. In 1975, Veterans Day was returned to its original date, though first observed in 1978.
Although more commonly associated with Memorial Day (as inspired by the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields"), poppies are sometimes worn on Veterans Day. On both days, American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Program distributes red paper poppies in exchange for donations to assist disabled and hospitalized veterans.
Veterans Day is often spelled Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day. However, the US Department of Veterans Affairs uses Veterans Day with no apostrophe, as do many editorial style guides. The official explanation for the standard spelling is that Veterans Day does not belong to veterans, but rather is a day for honoring them.


text:
Week 12 NFL Best Bets
By Nick Wojcik | Nov 27, 2020, 9:39pm
Week 12 NFL Odds
Matchup Breakdowns
Week 12 Best Bets
All three New York NFL teams are back in action this Sunday after the Giants and Bills had their bye weeks. Buffalo will host Los Angeles this Sunday in an early matchup. The Giants will head to Cincinnati without quarterback Joe Burrow, and the Jets take on AFC rival Miami Dolphins at home.
The Bills, and surprisingly the Giants continue to compete to win their respected divisions this season. The Bills have a chance to win the AFC East for the first time since 1995, and the Giants sit at 3-7, but a win would put them in a tie for first place with Washington. New York does have the tiebreaker over Washington, so this will be huge in the final month of the season.
Los Angeles Chargers @ Buffalo Bills (-4.5) O/U 52.5
New York Giants (-6) @ Cincinnati Bengals O/U 44
Miami Dolphins (-7) @ New York Jets O/U 44.5
The Bills and Chargers faceoff in Orchard Park this Sunday at 1 PM ET. This will be a tough start time for L.A. as it will be a 10 AM local kick. However, this won't stop Justin Herbert from doing everything possible to secure another Chargers win. L.A. has been struggling this season, and not much has gone great for the team. Anthony Lynn might not be the head coach to get the Chargers to the next level with his conservative playcalling costing L.A. a few wins this season.
The Giants catch a break this week as they will not have to go up against rookie quarterback Joe Burrow. He suffered a leg injury last week against Washington and will be out for the season. This allows the Giants to get into first place in the NFC East standings at 4-7. A win would give them the tiebreaker over Washington for first place. This comes down to whether or not Daniel Jones can move the football against one of the worst defenses in the NFL.
Miami heads to New York to take on the Jets, who have yet to win a game in 2020. What is interesting is that the Jets are only a seven-point underdog as they are a historically bad NFL team this season. However, the Dolphins have been catching many breaks, especially as Tua Tagovailoa has underperformed in his first few starts at quarterback. It's hard to see Miami losing to the Jets this week, but this game could be surprisingly interesting.
Bills -4.5
Buffalo has been sliding the past few weeks, but this is a game they should control. The Bills should be able to do enough defensively to limit Herbert and the Chargers' offense. Josh Allen should also have a field day moving the football for Buffalo. I'll take the Bills at anything under 6.
Jets/Dolhpins Under 44.5
The Dolphins offense has been getting lucky the past few weeks and might actually struggle to move the football this Sunday. Miami scored 24 points in the first meeting between the two, but it could be less against this time around with Tagovailoa at quarterback. I still don't think the Jets will move the football on Sunday either.


Hey, everyone! I've been honored with The Versatile Blogger Award for the third time!! My love and thanks go to Siobhan @ Novelties who tagged me a while ago! ❤ Please, give some love to her on her blog, if you have a little time!
I was nominated for The Liebster Award by Siobhan @ Siobhan's Novelties. Thank you very much, Sibby! You're awesome!
Guess what, I was recently nominated for The Versatile Blog Award!


Colin + Cassie had their first experience with a professional photographer. I was so honored. It was a first for me as well. See Colin + Cassie decided to rent the Notre Dame Football Stadium for their Engagement Session!! We had so much fun. I share with you the entire album. I couldn't limit the delivery of these photos. There are some I'll admit I wouldn't normally deliver but this was a milestone for us all and I wanted to let them hold onto all of those precious moments/memories.
A wonderful collection of photos. They capture Colin and Cassie so relaxed and authentic .Great to see them having fun and happy .


Please notice that this is a multi-part, step-by-step guide, on how to automate builds in TeamCity CI Server. Follow the links for Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.
Now that we have our MVC application and our corresponding test project building successfully, we can proceed to create our TEST step, where TeamCity will run our tests. Let's add now the Test step (here is the link to TeamCity MSTest short documentation).
First, access the build configuration for the correct project (either the new MVC 2 app or the updated MVC app we created at the beginning).
Login into your TeamCity server administration portal.
Click on the Projects link, located in the top navigation menu. This will display the list of projects and the build status.
Click on the build configuration you are adding the new build step. This will take you to the build's overview page.
Once in the overview page, look for the "Edit Configuration Settings" on the top right corner, below the search box. Click on it to go to the build configuration page.
We are going to add a new build step, so click on the Build Step section on the right menu.
You will see the existing build steps for this configuration, which should display the "BUILD" step we created before to compile the solution. Now click on the "Add build step" to display the build step configuration wizard, were we will add the Test step.
Select MSTest from the Runner Type drop box.
Enter the step name, in this case "Test".
Then you need to specify the path to MSTest.exe. You can choose from the default system paths or specify the path yourself. Try with the defaults depending on the Visual Studio version you are using. If that doesn't work, then try specifying the path yourself. Again, if the MSTest.exe file is not available on your TeamCity server, you might need to copy it from a machine who has it.
Enter the list of assemblies that contain your tests. You can either add the relative path here, or you can actually enter a parameter, that we can then add in the build parameters, as we did for the build. The DLL file should be "MvcApplication2.Tests.dll" and should be located in the Big/Release folder of the compiled project. For now let's enter the name of the variable we will use. I used "%env.TestAssemblies%".
Leave the other spaces empty for now, and click the save button.
You will be taken to the list of build steps, and now the new "Test" step should be there. Now, we need to enter the values of the new parameters we need for the Test step.
Click on the Build Parameters section on the right panel.
Notice that TeamCity already added the parameters we specified in the new build step, and now we are required to enter the values.
Let's add first the path to the test binary file. Click on the edit link for the "env.TestAssemblies" parameter, and add the assembly relative path. In my case it is " web\MvcApplication2\MvcApplication2.Tests\bin\%env.Configuration%\MvcApplication2.Tests.dll " because of my solution folder structure. Notice that I'm using the %env.Configuration% which is actually another parameter that we can configure. For this build we already set that parameter to "Release".
Click save to add the new value.
On my current TeamCity version, the app is not available, so I need to copy it. Copy the files if needed.
Now enter the correct server path to the MSBuild.test file and save the parameter value.
Now we are ready to test our test step.
You can actually run the build configuration manually from TeamCity, which is handy when creating and testing the configurations. Notice the "Run" button at the top right corner, below the search box. Let's run the configuration now.
Once you have you MSTest step setup and running, you can take advantage of TeamCity test views to get the most out of it.
The overview summary will also quickly tell you if tests passed or not, and the status of the build.
The output log of the build has detailed information for each step, including the run of the unit tests. If there are issues with the tests or the MSTest installation, you will see them here.
You can also check how long is each test taking.
On top of that, you can see detailed information for each particular test, which might help in more advanced scenarios.
If you have any issues running the unit tests, chances are that some dependency or binary associated with MSTest is not configured correctly.
Make sure to check my post on the subject. It will save you tons of time and wall-banging!
Thank you so much for this post. It has been really helpful!


text:
Q: Comparision of Speed of matrix multiplication in matlab and C We can do matrix multiplication in several ways. A and B are two matrix, of size 1000 * 1000.

*

*Use the matlab builtin matrix operator. A*B

*Write  two nests explicitly.

*Write three nests explicitly.

*Dynamically link C code to do the three nests.

The result is

*

** operator is very fast. It takes about 1 second.

*Nests are very slow, especially three nests, 500 seconds.

*C Loops are much faster than the matlab nests, 10 seconds.

Can anyone explain the following. Why * is so fast and why C loops is more efficient than write the loops in matlab.
I used another software , not matlab , to do the computing. But I think similar reasoning should apply.

A: Because matrix multiplication is highly optimised in Matlab, using LAPACK libraries under the hood.
You will find it hard to beat the performance of those libraries.  Certainly, simple nested loops don't take cache effects into account, and will thus exhibit terrible performance.

A: matlab is an interpreted language, C is compiled. Therefore C loops are much faster than matlab loops. That explains the difference between 2 and 3.
Similarly, matlab's A*B is also a compiled code under the hood. Then why is it still an order of magnitude faster than the C code? After all, if it's just a nested code that's really simple, and the compiler can optimize it to be as fast as if you were writing it in assembly. Well, the answer is that it is most likely not just nested loops. The simple nested loop algorithm runs in O(n^3) time, but if you recursively break up the matrix then you can relatively easily get the O(n^2.8) Strassen algorithm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strassen_algorithm) which performs well in practice; or you can even get down to the O(n^2.37) Coppersmith-Winograd algorithm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppersmith%E2%80%93Winograd_algorithm) which is not quite practical.
My bet is that matlab uses some form of the Strassen algorithm, which not only has a better asymptotic speed, but because the submatrices it eventially multiplies are small, it has a better cache utilization as well.

A: There is a webpage that describes Matrix multiplication speeds in C
using naive code and Blas code:
Naïve code
for (i = 0; i < n; i++)
    for (j = 0; j < n; j++) {
        C[i + j*n] = 0;
        for (k = 0; k < n; k++)
            C[i + j*n] += A[i + k*n]*B[k + n*j];
    }

BLAS code
dgemm_(&charN, &charN, &n, &n, &n, &one_d, A, &n, B, &n, &zero_d, C, &n);

showing

Maybe a good option to use those libraries and improve your speed.


text:
Australia imposes sanctions on Iran, Russia over human rights violations
Reuters | Posted: Dec. 9, 2022, 7:32 p.m. | Updated: Dec. 10, 2022, 12:50 p.m. | 2 Min Read
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's foreign minister said on Saturday the government would place targeted sanctions on Russia and Iran in response to what it called "egregious" human rights violations.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement Australia was imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions on 13 individuals and two entities, including Iran's Morality Police and Basij Resistance Force, and six Iranians involved in the crackdown on protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody in September.
In an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, Wong said the sanctions applied to Sadegh Hosseini, whom she described as a senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was being listed for his alleged role in "indiscriminate use of violence against protesters".
"The Iranian regime's flagrant and widespread disregard for the human rights of its own people has appalled Australians, and the perpetrators must be held accountable," Wong wrote in the newspaper.
The Iranian foreign ministry rejected the move as interference in the Islamic Republic's internal affairs and "incitement to violence", state media reported.
"Australia's new anti-Iran action comes after this country's government has systematically violated the basic rights of Australian aborigines, prisoners and asylum seekers for years and has sheltered elements of anti-Iranian terrorist and separatist groups," ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.
Seven Russians involved in what Australia's Wong said was the attempted assassination of former opposition leader Alexei Navalny would also have human rights sanctions imposed on them, according to the statement.
In addition to human rights sanctions, Wong said Australia was placing further targeted financial sanctions on three Iranians and one Iranian business for supplying drones to Russia for use against Ukraine.
The announcement comes after Australia's centre-left Labour government in October imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on 28 Russian-appointed separatists, ministers and senior officials after President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the annexation of four regions of Ukraine.
Since the start of the conflict, Australia has sanctioned hundreds of Russian individuals and entities, including most of Russia's banking sector and all organisations responsible for the country's sovereign debt.
It also has supplied defence equipment and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, while outlawing exports of alumina and aluminium ores, including bauxite, to Russia.
Australia's previous Liberal-National coalition government first imposed Magnitsky-style sanctions - measures that impose financial penalties and travel bans against individuals - in March against 14 Russians.
(Reporting by Sam McKeith, additional reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Bill Berkrot, William Mallard and Clelia Oziel)


text:
Q: Is `void_t` necessary to check if a class has a method with a specific signature? When I first learned how to check a specific signature in a class, I was taught to use std::void_t and write some code like this:
template<typename T, typename =void>
class HAS:public false_type{};

template<typename T>
class HAS<T,void_t<decltype(declval<T>().print())>>:public true_type{};

And this snippet of code will check if a class has the method named "print()". It works well.
But when I tried to remove the std::void_t, it still worked.
The code looks like this:
template<typename T, typename = void>
class HAS:public false_type{};

template<typename T>
class HAS<T,decltype(declval<T>().print())>:public true_type{};

So I am confused if "std::void_t" is necessary to check if a class has a method with a specific signature? Or that's only a coincidence?

A:
"void_t" is necessary to check if a class has a method with a specific signature?

+1 for the Tristan Brinde answer; but my answer is: std::void_t helps but (in your case) isn't necessary.
You can use the comma trick
decltype(std::declval<T>().print(), void())

The following is a compiling (in C++11 too; std::void_t is available only from C++17) full example
struct foo
 { };

struct bar
 { int print () const { return 0; } };

template <typename T, typename = void>
class HAS
   : public std::false_type
 { };

template <typename T>
class HAS<T, decltype(std::declval<T>().print(), void())>
   : public std::true_type
 { };

int main ()
 {
   static_assert( HAS<foo>::value == false, "!" );
   static_assert( HAS<bar>::value == true,  "!!" );
 }

A: This question explains in detail how void_t (otherwise known as the detection idiom) works. The key point is that the specialisation will only be considered if the type of the second template parameter evaluates to void.
In this case, it just so happens that your print() method returns void, so decltype(declval<T>().print()) is also void. But if your print() returned something else, say bool, then the specialisation would not match and would not be used.

A:
So I am confused if "std::void_t" is necessary

To me it is not entirely clear what you mean by that.  If you mean the expression SFINAE which is utilized by void_t then the answer is yes.  If you mean whether you need to explicitly mention void_t, then the answer is no.
For example in C++17 you can make use of the is_detected method, which is also part of std::experimental.  For other approaches see the other answers.
#include <experimental/type_traits>

template < typename T >
using print_t = decltype(std::declval<T>().print());

template < typename T >
using has_print = std::experimental::is_detected< print_t, T >;

struct A {};

struct B { void print() {} };

int main()
{
  static_assert( has_print<A>::value == false );
  static_assert( has_print<B>::value == true  );
}

Live example


I hope today is a good day for ripping up floors... I should have consulted the almanac!
Hmmm... our baby is due on July 8th. Should I pop that sucker out like a rocket before then, or tell it to stay for just a little bit longer?
Oh, I do use the almanac for weather predictions and it's usually pretty accurate. Apparently this summer in Austin is going to be hell on earth. Great.
Actually, I was totally planning on digging a huge hole to put stuff in after work so this is totally awesome.
Greta, somehow I just knew you were planning that.
I studied moon charts to predict when my baby was going to arrive, and she had her own damn plans.
Anon - I sometimes worry that the people who know how to predict weather based on the bands of the woolly bear caterpillar will all die and know one will be left who knows how to read the moss on trees, etc.
Here, for instance, as you know, there's already no one left who knows how to build a dry stone wall.
you should come to the vineyard, there are lots of people who know how to build dry stone walls- aka lace walls because you can see air through the stone gaps! I love it!
Guess it's quite handy after all! My brother LOVES it!


The Dutch insurance company VIVAT unveils Vigi: a mobile-only, on-demand insurance platform.
FACTS The British InsurTech Cuvva which specialises in on-demand car insurance, expands to travel insurance. Customers may sign up for early access to the Beta version.
FACTS New entrant on the on-demand insurance market: the Kiasu.me offer by e-commerce start-up Synagie (from Singapore).
The French start-up Leocare has been proposing on-demand car and home insurance offers since 2017. Besides their multi-sector approach, they stand out through relying on a dematerialised "full mobile" model.
FACTS Lovys was introduced in September 2017 and crafted an app enabling customers to subscribe needs-based insurance products, with no time commitment applied.


All links added in form has disappeared.
Hi, Did you guys remove the ability to have links in the forms? Ours seems to have all gone away. This is an important feature to us and sadly we will need to find a new platform if this is not offered. Hopefully, you must moved it and can tell us where it is.
I am not sure if I have understood your question correctly. Do you mean to say that you have added hyperlink in your form but it is not working?


For starters, if you are reading this blog, the high chance you are an anime and/or video game music fan. Now, many otaku and gamers can say they like the soundtracks, vocal songs, and music from their favorite shows or games, but thanks to scouring the Internet you can find the soundtracks to your stuff rather easily. If you wanted to legitimately buy the music, one would just need to hop over to iTunes and get your soundtrack. Simple right?
But what if you just did not want your music in lossy mp3 or aac formats? What if you want the CDs, but maybe one or two tracks, or not bother importing a CD and keeping it pristine somewhere? What if you just wanted that particular song or track in your hard drive, and it was legitimate?
In a previous article where I debated Digital or Physical media, I certainly did not want to get my music on a CD all the time, as I moved around and did not want extra luggage for things that I did not absolutely love, but was willing to spend a bit for a track or two.
As my first post reasoning why to get Hi-Res Audio, I would want to get the best version of the songs I love hearing as much as possible, even if the best thing available is only on a CD. The reason why mp3s and such formats are called "lossy" is because there is a loss of information from the original files from the studio in order to make the size conveniently small.
Back in the 90's and early 2000's when internet speeds were slower and hard drives were smaller, this was a legitimate reason to have smaller files that did not hog up your hard drive space. But now its 2016, hard drives are way bigger, internet speeds are much faster, so why can't I get my files at lossless?
I remember my earlier Anime convention runs, when there were some stores selling anime music CDs and video game soundtracks, most particularly a store chain called Kinokuniya. Maybe around 2008 the number of stores that sold CDs at conventions (and I mean bigger conventions such as Anime Expo and Fanimecon) started to decrease that you could count them with one hand.
In the last years, I would see almost zero stores, as even Kinokuniya would not stock up at all (Heck their retail stores all over California have either a small or non-existent music sections). Really, I cannot even buy the CDs when just browsing like most people browsed record stores before! (Yes you can always buy CDs from sites like CDJapan, but sometimes you just want to window shop).
Anyone else noticed this during their convention runs? Is there even fans of anime music that listen not to lossy audio online somewhere? Just do a google search and you might find some outdated blogs, or blogs with illegal mp3 downloads.
But what about sites concerning lossless audio with anime and video games? Is it too niche, that this particular fanbase is too small or too quiet? I would want my site to be it, but also not only about lossless anime and video game audio.
I get that not every fan would want to collect the soundtracks and are happy with streaming, Youtube playlists, and iTunes purchases. But like anime and video games in general, there are so many factions of fans, that you would just want to find those that like something very particular, and in my case anime and video game soundtrack fans who like lossless and possibly Hi-Res.
If overnight the reigning emperor of digital file distribution (Apple iTunes) and its main rival (Amazon) made CD quality FLAC the standard format for distribution and ceased mp3s for sale, maybe that would be the hope for Lossless distribution in the future.
But other sites are changing that, from Bandcamp and Loudr distributing CD-quality (or better) music, Tidal streaming CD-quality music, and Hi-Res sites like Ototoy, mora, e-onkyo, and Qobuz for those that love their music and want it as best as possible. Maybe then more anime & video game music fans would appreciate lossless and transition to Hi-Res, but I digress.
If you are an Anime, Video Game, Doujin, and/or Vocaloid fan that want their music in the best quality as digitally possible, respond below or click the Email icon on the top right to send me a message! Or if you know any good anime music fans sites (that do not host illegal downloads)!


Get "Family Christmas" by the Clark Sisters Today!!! This album includes stirring renditions of our favorite Christmas Classics such as "Silent Night," "The Chipmunk's Song" and "This Christmas" featuring J. Moss and Kierra "KiKi" Sheard. Preview below!!!
Tomi Lahren just doesn't know when to quit!!! She must know by now that you do NOT come for King Bey. The Beyhive ain't having it!!!
So today on social media, Tomi Lahren comes for Beyoncé and Colin Kaepernick mainly due to Kaep being present with the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award. The award is awarded to those whose "individuals whose dedication to the ideals of sportsmanship has spanned decades and whose career in athletics has directly or indirectly impacted the world." We all are familiar with Colin Kaepernick's kneeling during the national anthem in order to protest social injustice as well as Beyonce's controversial hit "Formation" where she tackles also police brutality against minorities and the Black Community.


As a sportsman, I all the time see individuals considering they know very a lot about weight reduction, getting fit, fat loss and muscle constructing. Sync up your exercise tracker, and the app will suggest how many calories you can eat based on whether or not you need to achieve, maintain, or reduce weight over whatever period of time you specify. This considerably will increase the center fee, which allows the guts to efficiently pump extra blood round your body.
Three pals who share the identical values and philosophies on wellbeing and who consider that improving your health can lead to noticeable improvements in all the other features of your life. Frequent and regular bodily train boosts the immune system, and helps forestall the "illnesses of affluence" resembling heart illness, heart problems, Type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity.
Nice wellbeing is more important to be bodily and sincerely fit. I understand we all want to be higher and I am all for doing whatever it takes to stay healthy and fit, to a degree, however most times there may be nothing like plain outdated exhausting work.
eight. Recognizing the Wake-up Name": Far too many individuals dwell in a state of health denial and let the gradual creep of time overtake them with serious health situations. The smart alarm rings when you're in a lightweight-sleep-stage cycle, a healthy time to get up.


Graduation project during my last internship at Formlab. The assignment was to create a complete visual identity. Formlab had no existing identity they only had a logo. My job was to make a visual identity arround this logo where typography an layout worked perfectly together to create a calm and visual apealing identity.


Mary McGinniss, a lifelong Vermonter, has been singing, playing string instruments, and writing songs since age 12. At age seven, she busted out " Who put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)" dreaming beyond the chain link fence of her catholic school playground. Today she is a grandmother, works a day job, and continues to pursue the mysterious weaving of story and song. She lives by Lake Champlain with her partner Kate Bouton, their cat Blossom Dearie and their dog June Carter Cash.


text:
Eden Park says 'I do' with wedding venue service
on 12th February 2018
New Zealand's largest stadium, Eden Park, has launched a wedding venue service at the iconic Auckland facility, where brides and grooms will be able to tie the knot in the changing room of the legendary All Blacks.
The Change Room Chapel is open now for wedding or vow renewal bookings. According to the stadium's operators, the chapel will be of interest to "locals and internationals looking for a short lead time wedding venue that provides the ultimate off-field event".
Available dates include Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, April Fools' Day, Friday the 13th and the anniversary of the All Blacks' Rugby World Cup victories in 1987 and 2011.
A basic package, starting at NZ$795 (£417/€470/$576) plus a 15-per-cent Goods and Services Tax, includes access to the chapel, classic wedding entry and exit music, the ceremony, Champagne for bride and groom, a personalised certificate and access to the pitch for photos of the bride and groom.
The chapel can also assist with bouquets and flowers, a videographer, professional photographer, chapel themes and team jerseys.
There are also numerous function rooms at the stadium that can host receptions of various sizes, with on-site catering options also available.
"For many, sport has been a religion, and to combine memorable sporting moments with a couple's special day at New Zealand's national stadium will guarantee a truly unique wedding day," Eden Park chief executive Nick Sautner said.
"Although our core business will always be events, due to current council restrictions as both our regulator and competitor, Eden Park will continue to explore new ideas that then can be implemented at other iconic venues globally."
Couples can find out more information by contacting [email protected].
Nick Sautner will be speaking at TheStadiumBusiness Summit at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester on June 12-13. To find out more about the programme for the event, please click here.
Image: Eden Park


text:
Call: (01) 8010196
You are here: Home / Blog / Social listening just got a lot easier with CRM
Social listening just got a lot easier with CRM
May 8, 2015 /0 Comments/in Blog /by Deirdre
According to the CSO's annual information technology review, just under one third of companies with broadband connectivity are currently using CRM or customer relationship management software to manage customer contact points across the business.
But a new generation of start-ups and ambitious SMEs are creating a surge of CRM adoption, according to Gary Cullen, sales and marketing director with Provident CRM, a reseller of the SugarCRM platform.
"The conversation has changed and where the conversation is happening has changed. Most of the decision-making process happens out in the social world where people talk to each other, get recommendations and look for influencers. We need to listen and engage them where they are.
"From a CRM perspective, you have to be able to capture this information and understand who is engaging with your message. You can then start to monitor and track the level of interest in your brand and rather than sending a potential customer a whitepaper and hoping for the best, you're bringing them on a journey with you," he said.
Paul Hennessy, Dynamics lead with Microsoft Ireland agrees.
"CRM allows you to refine your message on a continual basis. It means you can take a campaign, measure the efficacy of it, talk about the number of leads you got and the value of business that you closed as a result and all in real time. That's very powerful and it works best when you have sales and marketing closely collaborating," he said.
Six out of 10 Irish organisations are using some form of social media such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, according to the CSO, up from 48 per cent in 2013. And its primary purpose is to connect with the customer.
"The consumer is becoming hyper connected now, right across their day and marketers and agencies are having to adapt their approach to reach these people," said Christian Jago-Byrne, country manager Ireland with Microsoft Advertising.
"Irish brands are very good at that and are really recognising the fact the consumers are moving online. We're seeing organisations starting to run campaigns right across screens; on mobile, TV, video, Xbox and desktop and they're having to reach people in a different way. Social CRM and listening really helps them to manage the leads and determine the return on investment," he said.
And that social listening piece has now become an integral part of CRM. It might be in early stages in terms of overall market adoption but it's sure to grow as social networks and online communities take root in our everyday lives.
"Take Microsoft social listening and the ability to measure sentiment," said Hennessy. "If I was in Bank of Ireland, I would take the sentiment of what people are saying about AIB and use the pain points to my advantage, to run my own campaign and capture that audience. Remember what people are doing on social media, they're complaining," he said.
"The strategy behind what's happening now in social is almost a science in itself," said Cullen.
"Your CRM holds the key to reaching the right audience on your social platforms. And because it's digital, we have a lot more insight into what exactly is happening. It's not about customer relationship management anymore, it comes down to customer experience with us and they are either positive or negative."
SugarCRM integrates fully with marketing automation tools such as Marketo and Pardot out of the box, recognising a growing focus on automated lead nurture programs as an effective way to manage the digital sales funnel.
"SugarCRM for example will generate a landing page or a lead form for you straight out of the box," said Cullen. "When somebody completes a form, it automatically creates a record on CRM with their source history to give you more segmentation or analysis. Using marketing automation tools, we can score the lead based on visitor activity and pass it back to CRM and sales for a call to see at what stage the customer is at in their decision-making process."
Start your digital journey towards better customer engagement and closer client relationships.
HubSpot Certified
© Copyright 2015 - ProfIT Marketing, trading as DC Marketing Services Ltd. | Ashbourne | Co Meath | Registered in Ireland No 368282 | info@profitmarketing.ie
Organising for inbound marketing Business continuity management on the rise


Belgium celebrated the 65th anniversary of its air force with an impressive airshow at Koksijde Air Base on 6 and 7 July 2011. The show also featured lot of warbirds that are presented in this gallery. Frank visited the show on Thursday 7 July.


sorry to make you wait daniel: we finally get around to talking about liverpool on episode three of the pod.
With a second week of Premier League fixtures now in the books, D.J. and Jeremy take a look at the results in this week's edition of the podcast, including: Chelsea's choice of a false-nine line up against United, Cardiff's shock result against Manchester City, the protracted Gareth Bale transfer saga, and even — at listener request — Liverpool's performance against Aston Villa. We'll also spend some time talking about some quotes from new Columbus Crew owner Anthony Precourt in Sports Illustrated, Dempsey's home debut in Seattle, another WSOTP Soccer Pub Atlas pub highlight… and even D.J. doing a crap impression of Arsène Wenger.


Soil Type: Clay soil, quite calcareous.
VINIFICATION: the grapes are pressed, cooled and put into a very soft bladder press. The obtained must is conserved sweet with its sugars at a low temperature; secondly it is transferred to a big tank where it ferments for 10 days. It remains 2 weeks on its yeasts, than it is filtered and bottled after about 20 days.
Straw yellow with golden highlights. In bouquet, typical of the grape variety recalling yellow flowers, peach and lemon. Balance between flavour and sweetness int the mouth. Slightly sour with an aromatic end.
For the after- dinner with a dessert: fruit tart, puff pastry, sweet focaccia.


While it's been a few years since I myself was two, it's great fun to watch our girl fully embrace being two.
It comes with it's challenges for sure, but gosh, there's a lot of fun in there too.
and sledding on a box top with daddy.
She keeps me on my toes this one, and dares me to be a better person daily. But also shows me that sometimes eating Os under the couch cushions is way more important than folding laundry, or following up on something or another.
Through all the joyful and "learning" days, they're only two for a year.
She's lucky to be allowed to be fully two. Thank you. I know it's not always easy on you, or her, but keeping open to the beauty and wonder of it, as you do, keep things in balance. Thanks for sharing this. Love.